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Facts and Events
Military Service
- American Revolutionary War Veteran
Revolutionary War Pension Information
Information from “Virginia/West Virginia Genealogical Data from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Records”, Vol. 6, compiled by Patrick G. Wardell, Lt. Col. U.S. Army Ret. :
Worthington, Edward - captain of Illinois Regiment of Virginia State Line & served to 1783; died leaving 7 heirs, including Charles Worthington, received soldier's Pension arrears; Virginia Bounty Land Warrant #8320 issued to heir Charles Worthington 8/27/1835 per letter of General Land Office to George L. Worthington of Yelvington, Kentucky; query letter in file in 1929 from descendant Mrs. W.L. Blakley, Neodesha, Kansas, who was also descendant of Revolutionary War soldier Joshua Wayland; query letter in file in 1910 from descendant Ruth B. Worthington, Owensboro, Kentucky. F-R19205, R2646.
References
- Ancestry.com.
Edward Worthington was the son of Thomas Worthington and Ann (last name unknown). Born in County Cork, Ireland about 1754, He immigrated to the American colonies with his parents and siblings about 1768. They lived in the area of Baltimore, Maryland for a time before settling in the area of OhioCountyVirginia (now Wheeling, W. Va.) by 1773.
Edward and his father saw service in Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774. Papers in the Draper Manuscript collection list Edward as a “Long Hunter” in that effort.
1775 found Edward in the Kentucky territory where He is listed among the original inhabitants of Boonesborough.
An entry dated 29 Dec 1776 in the diary of George Rogers Clark contained the following: “A large party of Indians attacked McClelland’s Fort and wounded John McClelland, Charles White, Robert Todd, and Edward Worthington, - the first two mortally.” This attack was led by the Mingo chieftain Pluggy who was killed in that attack. Following the attack Edward relocated with his wife Elizabeth (Betsey) Stephens to Harrod’s Town (now Harrodsburg, KY).
In 1778 Edward joined as a Lieutenant in the Illinois Regiment of the Virginia militia commanded by Lt. Colonel George Rogers Clark. They recruited men from the Kentucky territory and set off down the Ohio river to Corn Island above the Falls of the Ohio. There they established a fort and then embarked downriver with about 175 men on 24 June 1778. On the night of 04 July they captured Fort Kaskaskia without firing a shot. Soon thereafter the Illinois Regiment had secured all the settlements in the area and nearly all the local inhabitants had sworn allegiance to America.
Clark then sent representatives to Fort Sackville near present day Vincennes, IN. This group included the priest Father Gibault who helped convince the locals to also swear allegiance to the American cause. Clark sent Captain Helm to command the fort with a force of militia. By December 1778 the British Lt. Governor of Detroit had recaptured Fort Sackville with a force of more than 500 militia and Native Americans. After retaking the fort Hamilton decided to delay reinforcing it and any efforts to recapture Kaskaskia until after the winter months.
In February 1779 Captain Worthington was among the force of about 170 volunteers led by Col. Clark in a 17 day march through the often flooded plains of the region to retake Fort Sackville in a surprise attack. Taking steps to make it appear that his force was much larger than it actually was, Clark was able to convince Hamilton to surrender the fort. Hamilton and his forces were taken prisoner.
Captain Bowman of the Illinois Regiment recorded the following in his journal entry dated 25 Feb 1779: “About 10 o’clock Captain Bowman’s and Captain McCarty’s companies paraded on one side of the fort gate. Governor Hamilton and his garrison marched out, while Colonel Clark, Captains Williams’ and Worthington’s companies marched into the fort, relieved the sentries, hoisted the American colors, secured all the arms. Governor Hamilton marched back to the fort, shut the gate. Orders for thirteen cannon to be fired, during which time there happened a very unlucky accident, through mismanagement. There blew up twenty-six six-pound cartridges in one of the batteries, which burned Captain Bowman and Captain Worthington much, together with four privates.”
The defeat of the British at Vincennes and the establishment of American forts and forces in the region led to the British eventually ceding that area to America in the Treaty of Paris. This opened up the “Northwest Territory” to settlement by America – although the British would continue to stir up Native American tribes in the area to harass and attack settlers throughout the Ohio valley until the end of the War of 1812.
On 24 Jan 1780 Thomas Jefferson as Governor of Virginia appointed Captain Worthington to recruit men for the Illinois Battalion of the Virginia militia. Captain Worthington continued to serve under Col. Clark until he was honorably discharged in 1783.
Following the war Edward was granted lands totaling more than 3000 acres for his service in the war and based on his claims and improvements on parcels. In addition to his Bounty lands in Clarks' Grant in Indiana he also had much land in Kentucky through claims in Lincoln, Mercer, and Jefferson counties. His wife Betsey also received a land grant – the first woman in Kentucky to do so – based on her raising a crop of corn in Kentucky in 1775.
Edward died of Yellow Fever in New Orleans in Sep. 1804. He had traveled to Louisiana with one of his sons to file a lawsuit against Dan Callaghan over monies owed him from a Kentucky land deal in the 1780’s. Edward died before the case was heard but his heirs eventually won the case – although they never successfully recovered the money owed.
Edward is listed as being buried in the WorthingtonFamilyCemetery, Daviess County, Kentucky.
Children of Edward and Elizabeth Worthington:
Mary Ann Worthington (1776-1840)
Catherine Worthington (1775-1815)
Edward McKendry Worthington (1775-1806)
Nancy Worthington (1778-1820)
Margaret Peggy Worthington (1784-1832)
Charles Pegram Worthington (1786-1835)
Edward Jeffers Worthington (1790-1829)
http://mv.ancestry.com/viewer/367b1616-d590-4925-a7b4-717c190e2afe/67920144/38171772269
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).
- Find A Grave.
Capt Edward Worthington
Birth: 1752
Macroom, County Cork, Ireland
Death: 3 Sep 1804 (aged 51–52)
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA
CAPTAIN EDWARD WORTHINGTON
Captain Edward Worthington was the son of Thomas and Naomy Ann Clarke Worthington. He was born in Macroom, Muskerry West, County Cork, Ireland, between 1750 and 1754. Thomas and Ann along with several other family members left Ireland to come to America sometime around 1768. They lived in Baltimore, MD before moving on to the area of Ohio County, Virginia, now Wheeling, WVA. They were established in Ohio County by 1773.
In 1774 Edward and his father joined the army in Lord Dunmore's War. The Draper papers list Edward Worthington as a "Long Hunter." He had already explored the Kentucky territory several times before traveling down the Ohio River with George Rogers Clark in 1775.
Edward was wounded at McClelland's station in Kentucky in December of 1775. He, and everyone in the station, moved on to Harrodsburg for better protection from the Indians.
Edward Worthington quickly became Captain in George Rogers Clark's Illinois Regiment. He was known as "Clark's Irish Captain." He fought several major battles under Clark, including Vincennes and Kaskaskia. He remained in Clark's company until the end of the war and received an Honorable Discharge in 1783.
In 1781 he received a letter from Thomas Jefferson appointing him to enlist men. He was brought up on court-martial charges for drinking by another Captain. Edward won the case when he explained that the only way he could enlist some of these men was to drink with them.
Captain Edward and his family were on Corn Island, an island in the Ohio River at Louisville. George Rogers Clark built a fort on Corn Island and maintained it during the Revolutionary War with a few families and soldiers. Corn Island was an important strategic position for the Illinois Campaign.
Captain Edward Worthington was one of the loyal men who marched with Clark on Vincennes and Kaskaskia. Both victories were major wins for the Revolutionary War. Edward established Worthington Station about 4.5 miles from Danville in Lincoln County, Kentucky. The site of the station is now in Boyle County.*
Edward was given a land grant in Jefferson County, Kentucky, on the basis that he raised a crop of corn in Kentucky in 1775. His future wife Elizabeth also received a land grant, the first woman in Kentucky to do so in her own right, for raising a crop of corn in Kentucky in 1775. Edward also received several land grants in Lincoln, Mercer, Jefferson, and surrounding counties.
Edward Worthington died in 1804 in Louisiana. He was swindled on a land deal in Kentucky and he and his son followed the culprit to New Orleans where he took him to court. Edward was infected with Yellow Fever and died there before the court tried the case. His heirs won the case, but never received the settlement.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99264039/edward-worthington
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